Sidewalks to be improved in Afton

AFTON - A discussion on improving sidewalks in Afton took over last Tuesday’s city council meeting.

During June’s Afton City Council meeting, sidewalk projects for the new fiscal year were proposed with no action taken. Council members reviewed which sidewalks would need maintenance between last month’s and this month’s meetings.

July marks the entry into the 2026 fiscal year. Council member Dave Cunningham said he discussed sidewalks with various contractors and said he was told a budget of $10,000 would not be enough for some proposed sidewalks.

For renovations, the council will typically choose sidewalk locations for the renovations, using $10,000 from the city’s LOST fund. This format was chosen for a few reasons, such as concrete being easier for the city to obtain and a lack of applicants for renovations.

City Clerk Kayla Lacina suggested making a modification to the city’s exterior beautification grant to also apply to sidewalks. This would allow for the city to partially pay for sidewalk renovations property owners have scheduled to make.

Afton’s exterior beautification grants are typically for property owners who wish to perform renovations on their property, specifically for sides which face the street.

On the topic of city sidewalks, council member Kristie Nixon introduced the Afton walking trail path which winds through East Union Schools’ parking lot. There’ve been complaints about vehicles parking on the trail, with the school potentially choosing to create a new path to avoid further complaints.

Nixon said the responsibility of the school should be to enforce the trail’s no-vehicles rule rather than avoid the issue. McGuire said this was an issue with both students and faculty. Although East Union could pay the funds for a new sidewalk, Nixon disagreed with how these funds should be used.

“I don’t want the school to pay $10,000 on a sidewalk,” Nixon said. “There are so many other needs out at that school than a sidewalk.”

In other Afton city council news...

Afton Police Officer Jake McGuire discussed security camera placement around the city. Some areas, including near East Union Schools, might need additional funds if those areas were to have a camera placed. Additional grants could be pursued for these funds.

McGuire also noted with increasing tariffs from the Trump administration, difficulties with vendors could raise prices, and already-signed contracts could see changes.

“You don’t know, with the tariffs and everything else, I’m hoping they honor the bid they got right now,” McGuire said. “They might, we might need to revisit the situation.”

An ordinance approved during last Tuesday’s meeting will raise solid waste collection fees for property owners in Afton. A second reading of the ordinance was held with the third reading waived.

Collections will still be done through Jim’s Sanitation. Fees depend on the size of the container, with 96-gallon containers to be collected for a fee of $23 (from $21.50) and 35-gallon for $19 (from $16.25).

Council members were given information to begin preparing for elections in November. Mayor Michelle Burger and council members Jeff Burger and Kristie Nixon face reelection this year.

The Union County Fair will take place this week at the fairgrounds in Afton. City council approved the liquor license for vendors at the event.